The document summarizes key events in the 1950s including the Suez Crisis where the UK, France and Israel invaded Egypt after Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, leading the US to deny oil to its allies. It also discusses the failed Hungarian uprising against Soviet control in 1956 and the launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union in 1957, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth, which spurred the US to create NASA and invest billions in education through the National Defense Education Act to catch up to the Soviets in space.